Group portrait of the proppaNOW artists. Courtesy: the artists and Ngununggula Retford Park Southern Highlands Regional Gallery, Bowral.

OCCURRENT AFFAIR is a major exhibition featuring new and recent works by Brisbane-established Aboriginal artist collective proppaNOW. Established in 2003, proppaNOW is one of Australia’s leading cultural collectives, exploring the politics of Aboriginal art and culture, and provoking, subverting and re- thinking what it means to be a ‘contemporary Aboriginal artist’.

Conceived as a collaborative activist gesture, OCCURRENT AFFAIR will address current socio-political, economic and environmental issues, while celebrating the strength, resilience and continuity of Aboriginal culture. Engaging wordplay through its title, OCCURRENT AFFAIR references the sensational journalistic style of some television current affair programs. OCCURRENT AFFAIR embraces the slippage between language and its associated readings to probe and present new narratives. The exhibition will reflect on the ongoing state of affairs affecting Aboriginal communities – issues that are relevant to all Australians.

Exhibited artists include Gordon Hookey, Jennifer Herd, Tony Albert, Megan Cope, Richard Bell, Vernon Ah Kee and Laurie Nilsen.

OCCURRENT AFFAIR is an exhibition from The University of Queensland Art Museum touring with Museums & Galleries of NSW.